Scientists calculate the fate of the Greenland meltwater

Scientists have been able to track the flow of water created by Greenland's melting glaciers, revealing that it's currently having a less significant impact on the Gulf Stream than previously thought. New model calculations, conducted by an international research team from the GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research based in Germany and the University of Bristol in the UK, suggest that a large fraction of the meltwater is effectively removed from the most sensitive areas by swift, narrow boundary currents, delaying the influence on the Gulf Stream. The study is published today [20 June] in the international and has important implications for our understanding on how weather patterns may be influenced in the future. Due to both enhanced summer melt and calving of outlet glaciers, more than 5,000 cubic kilometers of extra meltwater have been flowing from Greenland into the sea - equivalent to a quarter of the volume of the Baltic Sea. The fate of this freshwater is of great importance for the system of ocean currents in the North Atlantic, which is governed by the density of the waters surrounding Greenland. A reduction in the water density, especially in the Labrador Sea, due an increased influx of freshwater could ultimately lead to a weakening of the current system, including the Gulf Stream. Using a newly developed computer model, the team of scientists simulated the pathways and effects of the additional meltwater in detail.